


Happiness is in the Being

by redh00d0utlaw



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fix-It, M/M, Minor Angst, Mostly Fluff, Sam/Eileen is mostly background, don't expect a huge overarching plot, it starts off with the important parts of 15x18 but the rest is canon divergent, the characters all just get to be silly and happy and thats all you can ask for, the domestic destiel we deserved, the only real angst is at the beginning, this fic is borderline crack, this is mostly going to be pretty episodic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:54:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28277964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redh00d0utlaw/pseuds/redh00d0utlaw
Summary: "You said happiness isn't in the having, it's in the being. Well Cas, my happiness is being with you."Or, fix-it starting at the end of 15x18 that provides the domestic Destiel we need and deserve.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester/Eileen Leahy
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	1. Lunch, Interrupted

**Author's Note:**

> In which Dean rescues his angel.

I love you.

Those three words resonated in Dean’s mind, instantly becoming a mantra. Cas loves him, Cas loves him, Cas loves him. Cas loves him? How could he? How could anyone as good as Cas love someone as terrible as him?

Dean was frozen, in time and space. His brain couldn’t process what was happening. They were in danger, he knew that, but the reasoning seemed far away and meaningless. Cas said he loved him. Cas said he loved him. 

Dean was jolted back to the moment when he heard the godawful sound of the Empty coming for Cas. He thought he managed to choke out a small “Cas…” but he couldn’t hear himself over the everything that was happening. Cas loved him, and he was leaving him, again. Why did Cas have to smile? How could he smile in the face of their situation?

The Empty drew nearer and somewhere far off, Dean knew that Billie was coming for the two of them. God, why now? Why Cas?

“Goodbye, Dean.”

Cas was leaving him, again. Again. It was always going to be the same song and dance, huh? 

No.

Dean was jolted back to reality as the Empty began to take Cas, and he shoved Dean away. Dean felt the impact of the wall, but far away, just as everything else felt. As the Empty began to consume Cas, Dean thinks he shouted “Oh HELL no,” and rushed at Cas, falling into darkness…

___________________________________________________________________________

Dean woke up in darkness. Things were a little foggy. He remembered Billie, and Cas oh God, Cas. Cas told him he loved him. Dean shook his head. There were plenty of time for feelings AFTER he saved his feathery ass.

Dean looked around at what seemed to be a fathomless cavern. I guess it is called the Empty, after all, Dean thought to himself. Not the kind of place for a summer vacation.

Dean felt in his pockets, feeling the protective sensation of his pistol, angel blade, and knives. He had a feeling they probably wouldn’t do much good, but it was comforting for him nonetheless. Something familiar in the void.

“Cas? Cas!” Dean yelled into the Empty. His voice seemed to stretch forever, with no echo returning. It gave him a chill down his spine. “CAS!”

“Hmmmm….you don’t belong here…” a voice uttered, freezing him in his tracks.

“What? Didn’t expect company? Where’s Cas you son of a bitch?” Dean shouted, turning in place, trying to find the owner of the voice.

“I’ve never had a human before,” the voice continued. “You might be some fun.”

“You didn’t answer my question, where’s the angel?” 

“Ohhh….him….” the voice continued. “You should know. He’s mine.”

“Wrong. He’s MY angel, you freak. Now you’re going to let him go.”

Dean heard laughter that resonated in his ears. All of a sudden, a pool of black ooze formed in front of him, and began to take shape. He remembered something Cas said about the Empty being able to take any form it willed, but that seemed less unnerving in speech than in reality.

The shape began to look more concrete, and Dean shivered. He hated seeing a smile like that on his own mug. 

“Oh, well if I knew you were such a handsome sonuvabitch, I might have come sooner,” Dean crooned, sizing up the not-him. “But I really think me and the angel should be leaving, now.” Dean put his hands on his hips, trying to steady himself. He was happy his adrenaline was speaking for him, otherwise he might have whimpered. It was eerily similar to talking to Michael through the mirror.

“No, no,” the Empty replied in an uncanny version of his voice. “He stays with me. He made a deal. And you were stupid enough to follow him, but that’s not my fault. I suggest you get used to the darkness,” it continued, gesturing around. “This is your new home.”

“I doubt it,” Dean replied. “From what Cas tells me, you like your sleep, but he’ll tell you I can be quite annoying when I put my mind to it. Good luck getting sleep, asshole.”

Dean saw a mix of emotion cross not-his face. It quickly smoothed out, however, and re-formed into a smile. “Very well then. Castiel might have been able to withstand me, but you are no angel. You are simply a broken man who will shatter under my fingers. It’ll take no time at all before you surrender to darkness.”

Dean chuckled. “Man, I really doubt anything you can come up with is any worse than I’ve already been through. But you can try. Wouldn’t it just be easier to let me and the angel get on our way?”  
“No.” And Dean felt himself drowning, although there was no water to be seen. He could feel the sensation of water filling his lungs and he collapsed on the floor. He struggled to bring in shallow breaths of air. He remembered Cas’s face as he confessed his love. Oh, Cas. 

Dean met the eyes of the Empty, who was smiling. With the little air he could get into his lungs, he choked out, “Is this...all...you...got?”

The smile quickly faded. The Empty made a quick hand gesture, and Dean could get air in again. “Hm….well I suppose you would be used to that with your little tryst with Michael. I’ve got an idea!” And suddenly every nerve in Dean’s body felt like it was on fire.

Dean screamed. He simply could not help it. He struggled to form thoughts, struggled to think of anything other than the torment his body endured. Between gasps of air to continue his screams, he found a brief idea. 

He formed his screams into a single word, a single tether to reality. He screamed Cas’s name. If nothing else, maybe it’d rouse him from his little beauty sleep.

Some part of him far away heard the Empty fumbling, “No, stop that! You’ll wake him!” But Dean continued. He was physically helpless against the Empty. But this he could do. 

Suddenly, the pain stopped again, and Dean took ragged breaths. He began to laugh.

“Stop that! Why are you laughing?”

“Man, I’ve been through forty years of hell and been an archangel condom. You have absolutely nothing that could surprise me.”

The Empty squirmed at those words, then suddenly focused. “Are you sure your angel wants to be saved?”

“What?”

“Especially by you? I mean, why would Castiel want to be with you? What do you have to offer him?” The Empty smiled, completely at ease. “Here he’s at peace. With you he’s just reminded of every time you’ve failed him, disappointed him, and every time he’s done the same to you.”

Ah. Dean knew this game. “Oh, buddy don’t even start. I know every moment, with absolute clarity, on how I failed Cas.” Dean stepped closer to the Empty, knowing he had the upper hand. “I see his face looking back at me every time I close my eyes, seeing those sad eyes of his wondering what the fuck was wrong with me. Even if you managed to replay a greatest hits of my life, man, you’ve got nothing on my own mind. Face it, you’re out of ideas. All your other little residents didn’t have the will-” Dean paused for a moment, surprising himself, and continued “the love that I have with me. So eat it, asshat. You won’t break me.”

“Fine.” The Empty said. “I’m an ancient being. This is nothing. I’ll just wait for you to go to sleep.” The Empty sat, cross-legged, on the floor. “You’ll give up eventually.”

“Oh, I see. It’s time for a little friendly conversation then,” Dean said, sitting down himself. He smiled, an evil idea forming in his mind. “Don’t worry, I have plenty to talk about.”

And he did. He knew that the Empty knew every crevice of his mind, every memory. But that couldn’t keep him from telling it all again. And again.

He started talking about Sam, how he was so proud that even though he didn’t become a lawyer, he still used his brains in hunts and rebuilding the Men of Letters. He talked about his father, even the ugly parts. He talked about his mom, and how he was so happy he got a second chance with her, even if it wasn’t long enough. How proud he was of Jack and what a great kid he was, despite being the son of Lucifer. And he talked about Cas. 

How Cas never gave up on him, even though it would have been better for him to. How he stayed by him. How his hair always seemed to be messed up but still classy. How he always tilted his head when he was confused and how he didn’t always understand Dean’s references. How Cas always did what he thought was the right thing, even if it didn’t end up that way. He talked about--

“ENOUGH!” The Empty screamed. “I can’t do this anymore. One lousy angel that constantly gets removed from here will not particularly upset the balance of power in the universe. Take the angel, and GET OUT. I’ll get him.”

The Empty disappeared, and Dean smiled.

. . .

Cas woke up in the Empty. He was confused. He thought that the deal was done, and he would stay here forever. A pit grew in his stomach. That’s right, Dean fell in with him…

Before Cas could even try to yell Dean’s name, he heard the Empty’s voice in his head. “No deal is worth this torture. You are free to go, but take your irritating human with you.” 

“W-what? How long have--”

“Time on Earth? Three weeks. Time here? Fifteen minutes. That is more than enough for me.”

And then Cas was falling, falling, falling until he felt an impact. 

He looked around. It appeared that he had landed on the map table in the bunker. He smiled when he saw Dean was next to him, seemingly intact. They seemed to have interrupted a meal, based on the pizza sauce covering his trenchcoat and the beer soaking Dean’s shirt. Dean made eye contact, smiling too "Cas, I-"

But he was interrupted when a certain large, hairy, resident walked in and screamed "WHAT THE FUCK?"


	2. Family Don't End in Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have a lot to catch up on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone vomits up the exposition. Probably the last plot-heavy chapter this fic will ever have. The rest will be mostly episodic.
> 
> Sorry that updates are a little sporadic, hopefully I will get on a steady schedule soon!

“Heya, Sammy,” Dean chuckled, sliding off the table. He offered a hand to Cas, helping him up and helping wipe some of the pizza sauce off his clothes. 

“Okay, you know how mindblown I am to see you two, but you know the drill.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean said. The two were promptly doused in holy water, and both allowed their arms to be cut with a silver blade.

“Holy shit. It is you two. How?” Sam hugged Dean, and then Cas. “Jack looked in heaven and hell but couldn’t find where Billie stowed your soul, Dean. And Cas--Jack and I have been trying to find a way to get you out of the Empty but the lore is nonexistent.”

“Well the reason you could not find Dean’s soul is because he was stupid enough to join me in the Empty,” Cas teased. 

“Wait, what? I thought the Empty was just for angels and demons.”

“Turns out if you summon the Empty, it isn’t too picky about what it grabs on the way down. Bastard was too worried about nabbing Cas that it didn’t even notice me until it was too late. Then all I had to do was use my charms.” Dean punctuated the sentiment with an eyebrow wiggle.

“Yes…” Cas began, a small smile on his lips, “the Empty told me that you were quite...irritating”

Sam snorted. “That’s easy to believe. But one thing I’m confused about...how did you summon the Empty? Cas, you never mentioned there was a way to do it.”

“Sam, I made a deal with the Empty to get Jack back, and I simply hastened the conditions under which it would be complete.”

“You made a deal? What exactly was it?”

Dean and Cas shared a fluttered glance. “Sammy, Cas and I need to talk for a minute...in private.” Dean punctuated this with a strongly pointed glance, and Sam raised his hands in surrender, knowing better than to mess with Dean. “Come on, Cas.” 

Dean led Cas away from the map room, and into his own room. After Cas followed, he closed the door behind him gently, stopping for a moment to consider if he would be allowed privacy before giving a brief nod. “Okay Cas-”

“Dean, I know I should not have said those things to you, I understand you do not reciprocate and--”

“Shut up, Cas.”

Cas paused and tilted his head. “What?”

Dean shook his head, the ghost of a chuckle coming rumbling in his chest. “Man, you go and confess your love to a guy and don’t even give him a chance to respond before you get yourself sucked up into turbo hell, and you won’t let me say anything now? God, Cas sometimes you’re dense.”

Cas furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t think I understand.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Of course I reciprocate, Cas. I would’ve made my move sooner if I knew you felt the same.” Dean chuckled. “I guess we both are terrible at feelings.”

“Oh, Dean,” Cas said, his face softening. They met each others’ eyes, years of tension and misunderstanding suddenly clear: it was friendship, yes; a profound bond, yes; years of camaraderie, yes; but it was also love. 

Dean stepped closer, his face merely inches away from Cas. "You said happiness isn't in the having, it's in the being. Well Cas, my happiness is being with you." Dean wrapped his arm around Cas’s back and felt Cas lean into the touch. 

“I love you, Dean,” Cas whispered against Dean’s lips. 

“I love you too, angel,” Dean responded, his lips finding Cas’s lips. Then they kissed, almost timidly at first, but when they felt the mutual warmth and passion they shared, the kisses became more ravenous, more searching. It was something that was a long time coming…

. . .

Dean and Castiel knew that soon Sam would be asking after them, so they kept their antics to a short minimum before exiting Dean’s room. Dean made sure to straight up Cas’s trench coat, however…

They made their way back into the map room, where Sam had cleaned up their earlier mess and had replaced it with a fresh pizza and three beers. Sam looked up from wiping off the floor to quip “Alright, did you two finish your marriage counseling? I’m tired of being left in suspense.”

Cas’s face soured into a scowl. “Sam, Dean told you not to listen in on us.”

Sam and Dean met eyes, Sam’s eyebrows practically leaving his forehead. Dean looked quickly over to Cas, blushing. “Oh God, Cas, he was joking. Not that I was going to keep it a secret, but you definitely let the cat out of the bag.”

A blush crossed Cas’s face. Dean had to hold himself back from kissing him again, right there. “I...I see,” Cas began. “I guess it was inaccurate, we, after all, are not married.”

Dean lifted an eyebrow. “We could be, if you wanted.”

Before Cas could respond, Sam interrupted. “Okay, now I really need to know what’s going on. What the hell happened in the Empty??? Did you two finally stow your emotional baggage???”

Dean rolled his eyes. “If you gotta put it that way, yeah. Me and Cas are…” Dean gestured vaguely, “a thing.”

Cas nodded. “Yes. We have…’stowed our baggage’” he air-quoted. He sighed. “My deal with the Empty was that in exchange for Jack, I would be taken. However, the Empty only wished to take me when I was truly happy, so for that happiness, I confessed my feelings to Dean.” Cas looked fondly at Dean. “At the time, I had no idea he felt the same, but being able to be open, was relieving and made me happy. Then, Dean had the particularly stupid idea of jumping into the manifestation of the Empty, where I understand he used his charming personality.”

Dean smirked. “I mean, it worked on you, didn’t it, Cas?” Cas rolled his eyes. Dean grew serious. “I knew I had no chance in a fight, but I remembered Cas saying something about how sleepy the Empty was, so I just figured I’d prevent its little nap. Worked like a charm, too.”

“Yes, lucky for us the Empty seems to have much less patience than I do, Dean.” Cas smirked. 

Sam shook his head. “That’s an insane story but somehow doesn’t compare to what’s happened in the past three weeks.”

“Three weeks?” Dean gawked. “For us, it was maybe a couple of hours.”

“Yeah, you two missed a lot.” Sam started. “First, Chuck Thanos-snapped everyone on the planet. I honestly wasn’t sure if that or Billie was what got you two. Fortunately for us, Chuck wasn’t too happy with Michael and killed him, but in the process, Jack got a power up.”

Cas raised his eyebrows. “So he has the power of a nephilim and an archangel?”

“Yeah, kinda. With that we, and I mostly mean Jack, had the big showdown with Chuck and Jack got his powers too. Chuck is just a normal guy now, apparently. That was about a week ago. Since then, Jack brought everyone back but he and I have been trying to bring you two back, now. I guess that’s taken care of.” Sam shrugs. “I’d try to call him but I think he left his cell in the bunker.”

Dean raised his eyebrows and blinked. “Uh, I guess congratulations? Weird that Cas and I missed out on the showdown, but I guess it could be worse.” Dean reached his hand for Cas’s and held it gently. “Now I guess we play Where’s Waldo.”

“Dean I don’t understand how a fictional character has anything to do with our missing son,” Cas responded.

Dean snorted. “It means we’re going to try and make Jack un-missing.”

“That’s not necessary,” said a voice from behind the three.

The three of them turned and looked, and there was Jack, a grin on his face and his hand waving. Sam, Dean and Cas rushed towards him and embraced him in a big group hug. 

“Sorry I was late,” Jack started, the last to pull away. “I had a few things to take care of before I got back.”

“Like?” Sam asked.

Jack’s grin grew larger. “Well, when Dean and Castiel exited the Empty, it left an opening. So I might have taken an opportunity to bring back some old friends. I needed some angels to help with the heaven I fixed up, so most of them are already on their way, but a few wanted to come by.” Jack looked at Cas. “I tried to remember the names of the angels you mentioned, so I made sure to bring back Samandriel, Balthazar, Gadreel, and Gabriel, to name a few.” Jack smiled. “I accidentally had a freeloader though, but I remember you two talking about him so I didn’t mind. I think his name was Crowley?” 

Sam, Dean, and Cas looked at each other in exhaustion. “He was on our side…” Dean defended.

“Oh! And while I was in heaven, I made sure to bring anyone back that wanted to. There weren’t too many, but a few definitely had some unfinished business. Eileen, your Bobby, and a girl named Charlie are on their way too.” Jack added, satisfied with himself. 

The three were overcome with emotion. “Jack...Jack that’s awesome,” Sam stammered. 

Jack furrowed his brows. “One more thing.” He looked at Cas. “Sorry I can’t restore you to full power, but I can at least heal your wings.” He seemingly grasped at air, but Dean and Sam could tell there was a change, like a load had been lifted off of Cas’s shoulders. He seemed more relaxed.

“Welp.” Jack finished. “That’s the last of my extra grace.”

“What?” The three of them responded.

“Well, it’s not easy bringing angels back and giving them some grace. And heaven needed a LOT of work done. Besides,” he added “no one should have that much power. I’m back to being regular old nephilim-me.”

Before anyone could respond, Jack began again. “I’m hungry.” He glanced at the lone pizza. “We’re going to need a lot more pizza, especially when everyone comes over.”

“Wait, Jack, they’re coming here?” Dean raised his eyebrows.

“Of course! We have to have a family reunion, and you guys always say that family doesn’t end in blood. Claire’s coming over too. She said she wanted proof that you were alive, but I think she just missed all of you.”

And then, a cacophony of knocks on the door erupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: a wild family reunion!


End file.
